Describe and measure the "personality" of a brand. Explanation of Brand Personality Dimensions

The Brand Personality Dimensions of Jennifer Aaker (Journal of Marketing Research, 8/97, pp. 347-356) is a framework to describe and measure the 'personality" of a brand in five core dimensions, each divided into a set of facets.

It is a model to describe the profile of a brand by using an analogy with a human being.

The five core dimensions and their facets

These are:

    * Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
    * Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date)
    * Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
    * Sophistication (upper class, charming)
    * Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

 
Each facet is in turn measured by a set of traits. The trait measurements are done using a five point scale (1 = not at all descriptive, 5 = extremely descriptive) rating the extent to which each trait describes the specific brand.

 
An explanation of The traits belonging to each of the facets

These traits are:

    * Down-to-earth = down-to-earth, family-oriented, small-town
    * Honest = honest, sincere, real
    * Wholesome = wholesome, original
    * Cheerful = cheerful, sentimental, friendly
    * Daring = daring, trendy, exciting
    * Spirited = spirited, cool, young
    * Imaginative = imaginative, unique
    * Up to date = up to date, independent, contemporary
    * Reliable = reliable, hard working, secure
    * Intelligent = intelligent, technical, corporate
    * Successful = successful, leader, confident
    * Upper class = upper class, glamorous, good looking
    * Charming = charming, feminine, smooth
    * Outdoorsy = outdoorsy, masculine, Western
    * Tough = tough, rugged

The Brand Personality Dimensions Framework of Jennifer Aaker can be used to investigate the current status (IST) of a brand and to describe the desired future status (SOLL) of the brand.